From Proto-Germanic*watōr, whence also Old Saxon and Old Dutch watar, Old English wæter, Old Frisian weter, Old High German wazzar. Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European*wódr̥. Note that the Proto-Germanic stem of this word alternated between ending in -r (nominative and accusative singular) and in -n (other forms). The Old Norse word preserves the alternate stem ending in -n which was lost in most Germanic languages (the exception being Gothic𐍅𐌰𐍄𐍉(watō), genitive 𐍅𐌰𐍄𐌹𐌽𐍃(watins)), leveling the nominative and accusative singular forms to also use this stem. Other Germanic languages typically leveled the paradigm of this word to be based entirely on the -r stem (e.g. Old Englishwæter, genitive wæteres).